SUMMARY
It has announced the names of 8 startups selected for the programme, of which two are still in stealth mode
In addition to mentoring, the accelerator programme will invest up to $500K in each startup
backed startups such as Zetwerk, Detech Technologies, Ripik, Facilio and Haver Water, which has given it a ringside view of how AI, robotics and other emerging technologies are revolutionising different sectors
Accel India, which has backed startups like Flipkart and Swiggy, has unveiled eight startups for the third cohort of its six-month pre-seed accelerator programme Atoms 3.0.
The VC firm said in a statement that this is the first sector-focussed cohort under this programme which has selected pre-seed startups building in the AI and Industry 5.0 domains.
The programme was launched last year. Back then, Accel told Inc42 that under this cohort, it would select three to seven early stage startups each for its two cohorts from India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Accordingly, it has announced the names of 8 startups selected for the programme, of which two are still in stealth mode.
Prayank Swaroop, Partner, Accel said, “The shift to a thematic program design for Atoms 3.0 has enabled us to provide deeper, sector-focused mentorship for the startups. Atoms has always restricted itself to smaller cohort sizes to stay hyper-focused on the needs of a smaller group of exceptional founders.”
On the surge in the number of AI-powered startups, Swaroop said that while AI presents an incredible opportunity, the pace of innovation in AI requires founders to have the right mindset for navigating this market.
“As part of Atoms 3.0, founders are also learning how to build that muscle for resilience and agility,” he added.
The startups selected under this programme are:
Spintly
- Founders: Rohin Parkar, Malcolm Dsouza
- Domain: Industry 5.0
Spintly is an IoT platform that claims to simplify access control to commercial and residential buildings. The startup uses a distributed IoT architecture and edge computing technology, which eliminates the need for heavy back-end infrastructure and enables smartphone-based door access to users.
Asets
- Founder: Ashwini Oke
- Domain: Industry 5.0
It is a Canada-based startup which has launched an AI-powered cloud-based Integrated Design Suite, which it claims as the first-of-its-kind. The product is a multidisciplinary CAD, simulation and engineering design platform that helps engineering procurement construction.
Tune AI
- Founders: Anshuman Pandey, Naman Maheshwari, Rohan Pooniwala
- Domain: AI
Tune AI is a GenAI stack for enterprises with solutions that include Tune Chat, an AI chat app with over 180,000 users and powerful models for text, code generation, and brainstorming. It also includes a Tune Studio, which is a comprehensive solution for fine-tuning, deploying, and managing the Gen AI model lifecycle and enabling data security with enterprise-grade compliance.
Skoob
- Founder: Shubham Deva
- Domain: AI
Skoob is a generative AI platform which aims to revolutionise the way readers interact with books. Instead of navigating through entire volumes, the startup harnesses AI to dissect books into topic-centric sections.
Arivihan
- Founders: Ritesh Singh, Sonu Kumar Prashant, Rushabh Kothari
- Domain: AI
Arivihan claims to be a 100% automated learning platform which provides each unique school student with a personal tutor in their pocket at ₹300 per month. It caters to the users by guiding them in planning for their exams, teaching them with video lectures, talking to them, etc.
Meritic
- Founders: Pallavi Chakravorty, Nipun Gupta, Swapnil Basak
- Domain: AI
Meritic is a storytelling co-pilot for financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams which helps automate reporting and business analytics. It integrates knowledge graphs and language models to do highly contextual analysis, collect qualitative insights, generate relevant commentaries and automate financial deck creation.
Startups selected under this cohort will receive up to $500K in funding, access to perks worth more than $5 Mn, personalised mentorship, a strong peer community of early-stage founders, and access to Accel’s network of 200+ portfolio founders, industry buyers, and customers.
Accel has been operational in India since 2008. It counts many of India’s highly successful startups as its portfolio which includes Flipkart, Freshworks, Swiggy, Urban Company, Zetwerk, and Cure.fit.
It has also backed startups such as Zetwerk, Detech Technologies, Ripik, Facilio and Haver Water, which has given it a ringside view of how AI, robotics and other emerging technologies are revolutionising manufacturing, improving automation and minimising the need for manual labour.